52 Fun French Vocabulary Words and Phrases for Summer

52 Fun French Vocabulary Words and Phrases for Summer Suzy S. Summer, summer, summertime! Its the perfect time to relax and have some fun. Plus, its a season full of fun French words and phrases! Read on to learn some vocab from French tutor  Beth  L.   Summer is coming, and France is a wonderful haven during this time of year (if you can avoid the heat)! The weather is warm, and delicious, fresh food abounds. Children are on vacation from school, and many families take advantage of that to travel. For many, the allure of nature and the great outdoors is difficult to resist. What will you be doing with your summer? Beef up your vocabulary so you can tell your friends about it â€" in French! One of the first things summer brings to mind is the excitement of vacation and travel. 1) lété â€" summer 2) les vacances â€" vacation Note: les vacances dété â€" summer vacation 3) voyager to travel 4) un voyage a journey 5) juin â€" June 6) juillet â€" July 7) août â€" August Now, lets use these words in a sentence! For example Pendant mes vacances dété, jaime bien voyager! (During my summer vacation, I like to travel!) Je peux choisir le mois de juin, le mois de juillet, ou le mois daoût pour mon voyage. (I can choose the month of June, the month of July, or the month of August for my trip.) Many people enjoy the extra time and warmer weather to enjoy the outdoors. 8) le parc â€" the park 9) la pelouse â€" the lawn / grass 10) un pique-nique â€" a picnic 11) de la glace â€" some ice cream 12) la plage â€" the beach 13) le sable â€" sand 14) la piscine â€" the swimming pool 15) la mer â€" the sea 16) locéan â€" the ocean 17) un maillot de bain a swim suit 18) un lac â€" a lake 19) un bateau â€" a boat 20) nager â€" to swim 21) le Jardin â€" the garden 22) jardiner â€" to garden 23) une fleur / des fleurs â€" a / some flower(s) 24) une plante â€" a plant 25) un arbre  â€" a tree 26) la nature â€" nature 27) les montagnes â€" the mountains 28) dehors â€" outside 29) marcher â€" to  walk 30) courir â€" to run 31) jouer â€" to play Editors Note: Get a refresher on  conjugating -er verbs. Example sentences: Pendant lété, nous jouons souvent dans le parc. (During the summer, we often play in the park.) On prend un pique-nique pour déjeuner déhors. (We bring a picnic to eat lunch outside.) Jaime surtout le jardin denfants avec ses fleurs et ses arbres. (I especially like the childrens garden with its flowers and trees.) J’ai toujours aimé les bateaux. (I always liked boats.) Quand je suis à la mer, je fais du bateau à voiles. (When I’m by the sea, I go sailboating.) Quand je passe du temps à un lac, je regarde l’eau et les arbres, et j’écoute la silence.  (When I spend time at a lake, I look at the water and the trees, and I listen to the silence.) With the outdoors, of course, youll need to be able to talk about  the beautiful weather, as well. 32) le soleil the sun 33) la chaleur â€" the heat 34) le vent â€" the wind 35) les nuages â€" the clouds 36) le ciel â€" the sky 37) le sud â€" the south Example sentences: Quand on va à la plage, il faut se souvenir de son maillot de bain! (When you go to the beach, you must remember your bathing suit!) Comme ça, on peut courir dans l’eau et dans le sable. On peut se bronzer sous le soleil, sentir le vent sur la peau, et apprécier la beauté de l’eau et du ciel. (That way, you/we/one can run in the water and in the sand. You/we/one can tan yourself/ourselves/oneself in the sun, feel the wind on your/our/one’s skin, and appreciate the beauty of the water and the sky.) In addition to the words above, below  are some common phrases and expressions related to summer. 1) Je vais dehors Im going outside 2) Il fait chaud Its hot 3) Il fait du soleil Its sunny 4) Il fait beau Its / the weather is beautiful 5) Il fait du vent â€" Its windy 6) donner de lombre â€" give / provide shade 7) se limoger â€" to distance oneself 8) faire du camping â€" to go camping 9) faire du bateau à voile â€" to go sailboating 10) aller à la (f.) / aller au (m.) / aller aux (pl.) to go to 11) prendre lautoroute â€" take the highway 12) tomber en panne â€" break down 13) un coup de soleil â€" sunburn 14) prendre un coup de soleil â€" get a sunburn 15) se bronzer â€" to sunbathe / to get a tan Check the same regular verb list linked above for help conjugating the regular -er verbs on this list. Several more expressions use the verbs faire and aller. (Learn more about irregular conjugations here.) Example sentences: Aujourdhui, on a voulu se bronzer à la plage. (Today, we wanted to tan ourselves at the beach.) Mais on est tombé en panne quand on a pris lautoroute. (But our car broke down when we were getting onto the freeway.) On a perdu toute une journée dété! (We lost a whole day of summer!) So, what are your favorite French words and phrases for summer? Here are ours: As school lets out and the summer begins, dont be the first to lose your French â€" instead, continue  practicing with your friends while youre out having fun! Post Author:  Carol Beth L. Carol Beth L. teaches  French lessons in San Francisco, CA. She has her Masters in French language education from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has been teaching since 2009.  Learn more about Carol Beth here! Photo by  Tommie Hansen Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher